Paradise Police Detective Jake Smith announced the arrest of three people on Friday morning in connection with the murder of Brian Clouser, 54, of Paradise.

Smith said Clouser's body was found in a shallow grave in Concow on July 23, after a month-long investigation into his disappearance.

Charles Houston Blalock, 41, of Paradise was arrested for murder, while Nicole Alice Hauser, 28, and Victor Eugene Marino, 22, were arrested as accessories to murder.

Law enforcement is looking for two more people in connection with the crime, but for investigative reasons can't reveal their identities.

Smith said police were notified by Clouser's family that he was missing on June 20. Smith said that after they began to investigate Clouser's absence, they began to suspect he wasn't just a missing person.

The last time he was seen alive, Smith said, was in late May and police believe he was killed on May 31.

"He hadn't been seen by his neighbors and that was described to us as unusual," Smith said. "He was known to the people who lived around him so when they said he was gone it made it more suspicious."

The fact his neighbors noted the change led Paradise Police to look more closely at the case.

"A lot of it had to with — not really a gut feeling — but it just didn't seem right," Smith said. "So we kind of pressed on and looked a little deeper."

Police got a search warrant for Clouser's home and turned up evidence of a murder, they said. Police say leads then pointed them in the direction of Concow, where with the help of the investigations unit of the Butte County Sheriff's Office and Butte County Search and Rescue, they were able to find a male body.

Smith said the body "was not immediately recognizable to be Brian," but the state Department of Justice was able to confirm the body as Clouser's on Wednesday.

That confirmation led to both Blalock and Hauser being charged Thursday night at Butte County Jail where the two were being held on unrelated alleged crimes.

Blalock and Hauser, who according to Facebook are engaged, lived in a home that Clouser was renting them. Police will not comment on the nature of the relationship between the suspects and the victim or what led to the crime at this time.

Hauser was arrested in March for felony ID theft, felony grand theft and simple battery. She pled no contest to felony grand theft while ID theft and battery charges were dismissed. She was sentenced to 30 days in jail and three years probation.

According to the Butte County Court website, Hauser violated her probation in late June and it was revoked on July 2. Blalock and Hauser are both set to appear in court on Aug. 6 — Blalock for an alleged parole violation.

Smith said Marino was arrested last week and was arraigned on July 28 for accessory to a crime after the fact. He's due back in Judge Michael Candela's court on Aug. 14.

The investigation is continuing and Smith said they are looking for "at least two more people."

Paradise Police say that the Butte County Sheriff's Office, the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Forensic Services, Butte County Probation Department, Chico State University Anthropological Department, Butte County Search and Rescue, and Butte County District Attorney's Office aided in the investigation.

If anyone with further information regarding this incident is asked to contact the police at (530) 872-6241. Callers who wish to remain anonymous they may call the Paradise PD tip line at 895-7611.